Inker for typewriter-ribbons



W. R. ORMES.

INKER FOR TYPEWRITER RIBBONS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.27|.I920- 1,391,139, 7 PatentedSept. 20, 1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET I.

' ALW/T TUE/:45;

W. R. ORMES.

INKER FOR TYPEWRITER RIBBONS.

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII 5027 1920.

Patented Sept, 20,1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

UNITED STATES WILLIAM R. OBMES, OF WALTHAM, MASSACHUSETTS.

INKER FOR TYPEWRITERr-RIBBONS- Application filed December 27, 1920.,Serial No. 433,318.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM R. ORMES, of Waltham, in the county ofMiddlesex and State of Massachusetts, a citizen of the United States,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Inkers for TypewriterRibbons, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is designed to serve as a desk or ofiice appliance for thereinking or remoistening of typewriter ribbons. The ink on ribbons driesin time and they are often thrown away 'when in fact the fabric hasconsiderable life provided it can be remoistened or reinked. Usuallyunder these conditions the ribbon is thrown away, whereas all that isnecessary to revive it is to apply to it some proper liquid. Heretoforeas far as I know machines useful for reviving ribbons have not beenadapted for ordinary ofiice use. They have been quite large andcomplicated and particularly adapted for use in factories where theribbon is manufactured.

My invention will be understood by reference to the drawings, in whichFigure-1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 a plan thereof;

Fig. 3 an end elevation showing the support for one of the reels;

Figs. 4 and 5 sections on lines 4-4 and 55 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 a perspective view of the moistening tank.

A is a table which may be of wood or other suitable material on which ismounted a base plate B havin projecting upwardly therefrom a rib C. Ihisrib is shaped at each end as shown at D, E, to form bearings for studs(1, e on which the reels are mounted, it being understood that the reelsherein referred toare reels of ordinar character used in typewritingmachines. n the stud d is mounted a crank/arm F with a suitable crankhandle, bearirigs F being provided therefor in any suitable manner. Theend of thestud d is threaded to receive a nut' d by which a reel isclamped onto the stud against the washer (i so that it may be rotated bythe crank. At the other end of the device the means for holding a reelupon the stud 6 comprises a rod G mounted to slide lengthwise and freeto turn in the rib C and a bearing 0 its outer end being bent laterallyas atg and provided-with a perforation Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 20, 1921.

1 to fit over the end of the'stud e. The other end of the rod G carriesa head g. Against this head presses one end of a leaf spring G the otherend of which is riveted at Gr to the rib C. By pressing the rod Ginwardly by means of the head 9 and against the force of the spring-Grthe arm 9 is pushed off from the stud e to enable the reel to be put inplace on the stud, and when the head 9 is again released the spring Gforces it toward the position shown in Fig. 2 so that the perforation gbeing guided by hand onto the stud e rests against the reel and not onlyholds the reel in place, but applies friction' to it so that it will notrun on the stud and render the ribbon slack.

On the rib C is mounted a cradle H for the tank J which contains themoistening liquid. In practice I prefer to make my base plate B of twothicknesses of metal which are riveted or otherwise attached togetherand are shaped and bent as indicated in Fig. 5 so that the rib C is ofdouble thickness, while the ends or edges of the. plate are bent'outward to form the bed plate B, the upper edge eing bent outward andotherwise suitably shaped to form the cradle H. This cradle has an endpiece h and side pieces b so that it may be easily slid into place andremoved.

The tank is of rectangular shape, its cover J being slotted as at 7' sothat a wick may be placed in the tank with its end pfiqecting throughthe slot to engage the roll and the tank partially filled wlth a liquidwhich shall moisten the wick and so carry moisture to the moisteningroll L'. Thisroll is carried in uprights Z projecting from the top ofthe tank, and in order to facllitate the removal and replacing of theroll, as may be deslrable when filling the tank, I prefer that theseup-- rights Z shall be so made that the roll maybe sprung into or out ofplace. On each side of the roll and on top of the tank I mount guidefingers m preferably curved in cross section as shown and projectingfrom a base M, so that the whole device may be struck out of a singlestrip of material whi h is attached as 'a unit to the top of the ta Thiswhole construction. facilitates economical manufacture, for with theexception of; the studs, rod, crank bearings, etc., it may be died outfrom sheet metal at very little expense." In using my device, the rod 1sfirst ressed ins hat the arm-y wlthdm'wn from the stud e and on thatstud a reel wound with dead ribbon, for example of ordinary typewriterform, is placed. The rod G is then released and the arm 9 guided back onthe stud 6 so that it presses the reel against the opposing wall of thepart E of the rib C. A portion of the ribbon is then drawn off from thereel N, passed under the nearest guide finger m, over the roll L, underthe other finger m and onto an empty reel H which has been put upon thestud d, the nut (1* being first removed. The nut is then screwed homeagainst the reel N so that this reel will turn with the crank, and thefree endof the ribbon is then attached thereto. The turning of the crankdraws the ribbon over the roll L which is kept moist by the wick K fromwhich it absorbs either a reviving liquid or fresh ink as the case maybe. The reel filled with the moistened ribbon may then be removed andinserted in the typewriter in the usual way where it will be found readyfor use if the process has been properly and sufficiently carried out.If thought best the ribbon may be run through the machine more thanonce.

It will be seen that this device is of great simplicity and may be madeat comparatively little expense because its size, shape and referredmethod of making are such that its main portion may be stamped out ofordinary sheet metal, and moreover when finlshed 1t is of such size, saySIX or seven inches long, that-it takes up but little room a mois-'Other ways of embodying my invention will occur to those skilled in theart as I do not mean to limit myself tothe precise construction shown.

What I claim as my invention is 1. A device of the kind describedcomprising a base having reel supports mounted thereon, a tank supportmounted between said reel supports, a tank detachably mounted in saidtank support, a roll, a roll mounted on said tank, and guides mounted onsaid tank'one on each side of said roll, one of said reel supportscarrying a crankarm and the other having means adapted to apply tensionto a reel mounted thereon.

2. In a device of the kind described, a reel support comprising a plate,a stud mounted in said plate, a slidable rod mounted in said plate andhaving a perforated arm at one end, the perforation of said arm beingadapted'to slide over .said stud and hold a' reel against said plate,and a spring arm one end of which is attached to said support and theother adapted to engage said rod whereby said arm will be maintained infrictional contact with said reel;

3. In a device of the kind described, two reel supports having a cradlelocated between them, a tank detachably located in said cradle, a rollmounted on said tank, guides located one on each side of said roll, andmeans located in said tank whereby said roll may be moistened.

4. A device of the kind described comprising -two reel supports, a crankshaft mounted in one of said supports, a frictioncontrolled rod mountedin'the other support to carry a reel, and amoistening device locatedbetween said reel supports and comprising a moistening roll and 'meansfor moistening it, and guides to hold a ribbon in contact with saidroll. WILLIAM R. ORMES.

